19세기 말 조선에서의 외국인 고문관 활동

A Study on the Foreign Advisers Activities during the Late 19th Century in Joseon - Mollendorffs Activity and Limitations

In the late 19th century, the Joseon government confronted the imperialistic economic?military invasion crisis from Japan and the Western power internally and the dual task of rapid dissolution in feudal society and conflict against status system internally. In response to this, in the 1880s, the Joseon government set the goal of independence and autonomous modernization and exerted itself actively to address this. The Joseon government sent international students to introduce the Western advanced culture to foreign land, and tried to be of help to foreign trade task by inviting foreign specialists accustomed to the Western international law, administrative management technique and technology. Accordingly, in the Korean modern history, the study on Mollendorff, a German & the first foreign advisor, will help to illuminate the aspect of independence and modernization process. That is to say, this article is aimed at helping to understand, in depth, the development process of modern Joseon diplomacy and independence protection activity by analysing the content and characteristic of foreign policy, and consulting activity by Mollendorff, German advisor. Secondly, the political system of Joseon turned into the Great Han Empire in the historic process of protection independence and coping with the external invasion, during the opening port era. German Empire led by Wilhelm Ⅱ and the Great Han Empire led by Emperor Gojong had common denominator of ‘new empire’ in outer appearance, however both countries had different time background in the change of national system into an ‘empire’. This article will examine how German Empire and the Great Han Empire recognized each other in the far Eastern region, which appeared as new area of power during the age of imperialism. At that time, Germany achieved belated unified nation state and was a new empire which elected an emperor, in its direction. And, the Great Han Empire also was a new empire in the Eastern Asia which denied the Chinese dominance over Korea in the Eastern Asia and declared ‘empire’, as a way to survive the conflict of Japan and the Western power. In addition, the Great Han Empire tried to model itself after German Empire of Wilhelm which promoted the international status of strong German Empire through the strengthening of military power as a way to strengthen national power and keep independence of the Korean peninsula which was undergoing international crisis from the advancement of Japan and the Western power. This research will go over Mollendorff, the first foreign advisor who worked in a critical mind, during the port opening era, in chapter Ⅱ. And chapter Ⅲ will inquire into the role in the international society expected each other by the Great Han Empire and German Wilhelm Empire. The study like this will help Korea to be engaged actively in the international order of East Asia in the 21st century, by looking back on the Korean-German history.